{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18325"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18325","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa","abstract":"Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size and frequency in the cross-sectional xylem anatomy of archaeological charcoal that statements may be made on rainfall trends over the last 2000 years. These results indicate a general decrease in rainfall from 2300 BP to the present with a slightly wetter period during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 A.D.). The results also suggest that present conditions are much drier than at any other time within the last 2000 years. The only limitations on this method are the resolution of the radiocarbon dates, a suitable distribution of sites and a calibration curve for the species analysed.","abstract_html":"Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size and frequency in the cross-sectional xylem anatomy of archaeological charcoal that statements may be made on rainfall trends over the last 2000 years. These results indicate a general decrease in rainfall from 2300 BP to the present with a slightly wetter period during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 A.D.). The results also suggest that present conditions are much drier than at any other time within the last 2000 years. The only limitations on this method are the resolution of the radiocarbon dates, a suitable distribution of sites and a calibration curve for the species analysed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["February, Edmund Carl"],"institution":"Department of Biological Sciences","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1997,"date_issued":"1997","date_published":"1997","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:33Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18325","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["February, Edmund Carl"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2016-03-28T14:43:15Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-28T14:43:15Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1997"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of Biological Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Doctoral Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["PhD"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18325"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size and frequency in the cross-sectional xylem anatomy of archaeological charcoal that statements may be made on rainfall trends over the last 2000 years. These results indicate a general decrease in rainfall from 2300 BP to the present with a slightly wetter period during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 A.D.). The results also suggest that present conditions are much drier than at any other time within the last 2000 years. The only limitations on this method are the resolution of the radiocarbon dates, a suitable distribution of sites and a calibration curve for the species analysed."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["February, Edmund Carl"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2016-03-28T14:43:15Z"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-28T14:43:15Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1997"],"dc:description.abstract":["Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size and frequency in the cross-sectional xylem anatomy of archaeological charcoal that statements may be made on rainfall trends over the last 2000 years. These results indicate a general decrease in rainfall from 2300 BP to the present with a slightly wetter period during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 A.D.). The results also suggest that present conditions are much drier than at any other time within the last 2000 years. The only limitations on this method are the resolution of the radiocarbon dates, a suitable distribution of sites and a calibration curve for the species analysed."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18325"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of Biological Sciences"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:title":["Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa"],"dc:type":["Doctoral Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:33Z"}